Starfleet ranks
The Starfleet rank system has a long history dating back to early space explorers of the Starfleet and its predecessor naval and military forces. Flag officer ranks The most senior section of Starfleet is described as the "flag officers." These ranks are the highest levels of Starfleet Command. :Rank insignia which are only conjecturally designated are denoted with an asterisk. Rank insignia with dark backgrounds are not derived from on-screen evidence, but behind the scenes sources or references (such as the ''Star Trek Encyclopedia).'' ;Fleet admiral : The most senior flag rank in Starfleet. In 2293, the commander in chief of Starfleet held this rank. ( ) ::The fleet admiral insignia for the system used after TNG Season 1 were five pips enclosed in a rectangular border. At this point, this insignia has not been identified in any on-screen source, but is derived from the ''Star Trek Encyclopedia. The rank has been canonically mentioned in that era, however, but the officers in question wore the insignia of lower ranked admirals, a possible costume mistake, or simply a confusion in nomenclature (they were admirals in command of fleets, but perhaps not fleet admirals). Possibly this rank is only differentiated by this insignia under special circumstances, such as wartime.'' ;Admiral : The second most senior flag rank known to exist in Starfleet. ;Vice admiral : Starfleet flag rank immediately inferior to full admiral, but superior to a rear admiral. ;Rear admiral : The lowest grade of admiral in Starfleet. It is inferior to a vice admiral, and superior to a commodore or captain. ;Commodore : Immediately superior to a captain, and just before rear admiral. At some point in Starfleet history, this rank became known as "rear admiral lower half." ::This practice mirrors a change made in the modern-day US Navy eliminating the commodore grade. In TOS, many fleet commanders and other senior personnel were commodores, but by TNG, an officer (Admiral Gregory Quinn) with an equivalent insignia to a commodore was referred to as an admiral, indicating Starfleet made a similar change. Line officer ranks ;Fleet captain : Fleet captain is a title bestowed on senior Starfleet captains. It is a rare distinction, held by particularly distinguished captains. The title of fleet captain was held by former Enterprise Captain Christopher Pike in the year 2266. It was also held in the 2260s, by Captain Garth, one of Starfleet's most decorated captains and hero of the Battle of Axanar. ::Although this title was not used in canon at any point after TOS, fleet captain was assigned a rank pin in the ''Star Trek Encyclopedia, as part of a movie-era set of ranks established for Star Trek II through Star Trek VI. The pin was the same as the captain's rank pin, but with two additional "flags" attached to the long edges of the pin. In addition, FASA's Star Trek: The Next Generation Officer's Manual carried the idea of a fleet captain insignia into the TNG era, using five solid pips to designate the rank.'' ;Captain : The most senior regular line rank in Starfleet. It is most often applied to starship and starbase commanders, and the adjutants and executives serving beneath admirals. This rank is usually considered a big transition, because it is often the first rank in which officers run a base of operation (for example, a starship) more or less by themselves. The equivalent military rank to Starfleet captain is colonel. ::In the modern US Navy, captain is a four-stripe officer rank. This insignia style was used in ENT all TNG era productions. During TOS and the movies, it had differing insignia. The TOS captains wore one full braid, a broken braid and another full braid. However, in the pilot , Captain Pike wore only a single rank strip, so it was not clear how other officers were differentiated from captains. By , Kirk was the only officer with two stripes, but that system didn't differentiate any other officer grades below captain except for no-stripe ensigns. ;Commander : The Starfleet line rank immediately inferior to captain. Officers at this rank typically hold positions such as space station commander (for example Sisko prior to 2372) or first officer of important starships (for example Riker, on the and -E from 2364 – 2379). Line officers reaching this rank typically have between ten and fifteen years of experience in Starfleet. ;Lieutenant commander : The Starfleet line rank immediately inferior to commander. Officers with this rank typically hold positions as starship department heads (for example, Montgomery Scott, Geordi La Forge), or, in some cases, as commanding officer (for example, Piersall aboard the Prometheus) or first officer of a starship (for example, Benjamin Sisko aboard the Saratoga, Christopher Hobson aboard the Sutherland, or Cavit aboard prior to his death when Voyager was thrown deep into the Delta Quadrant). ;Lieutenant : The Starfleet line rank immediately inferior to lieutenant commander. Officers at this rank typically have some command experience, and are occasionally appointed department heads on starships. Typically they are shift commanders in a department under a lieutenant commander; for example, a lieutenant commander will be chief of engineering and will also be commander of A shift, and there will be a B and a C shift, each under a lieutenant. ::The United States armed forces have various programs for service members to begin their careers as officers in higher pay grades than second lieutenant or ensign, with commissioning in the rank of Lieutenant common for such United States Navy occupations as Judge Advocate General Corps (JAG), Chaplains, Medical and Medical Service Corps, as well as the Navy Dental Corps. Whether Starfleet utilizes a similar policy for commissioning officers in the medical and science fields is unknown, although highly likely given Counselor Deanna Troi's rapid rise to lieutenant commander after her advanced studies on Betazed. This may also explain how Saavik of Vulcan was both a cadet and a lieutenant in . ;Lieutenant junior grade : The Starfleet line rank immediately inferior to lieutenant. Officers at this rank typically hold support positions on starships and starbases. At this rank, they have begun to prove their ability to perform acceptably in Starfleet, and typically begin to take on more senior roles in command situations. Typical posts at this rank are conn officer, communications officer, or second officer of a shift (see lieutenant). It is also the rank bestowed on medical doctors and counselors (but not nurses) upon completion of their studies and training at Starfleet Medical Academy or elsewhere. This rank acknowledges the additional time required to become commissioned as reflected in Beverly Crusher's service record and confirmed by Julian Bashir's age as a recent Academy graduate in . Assistant counselor Ezri Dax skipped her final months of training and was explicitly given "commission as a full counselor with the rank of lieutenant grade" in . ;Ensign : The most junior Starfleet line rank. It is the rank bestowed on newly-commissioned officers when they graduate from Starfleet Academy. Ensigns typically begin their careers as the most junior officers in the department of their chosen specialty. Ensigns who have strongly distinguished themselves in their academy class or on duty may sometimes be given posts as main-shift bridge officers (for example Ensign Harry Kim). A typical officer spends approximately three years at the rank of ensign. ( ) Cadet ranks Cadet ranks are held by those attending Starfleet Academy during their training to become commissioned officers. ;Recruit : A recruit was an officer-in-training in the 2140s. They were trained at Starfleet Command. ;Cadet 1st class : Cadets of this rank are fourth-year students at Starfleet Academy. After graduation, these cadets are granted the rank of ensign. ;Cadet 2nd class : Cadets of this rank are third-year students at Starfleet Academy. ;Cadet 3rd class : Cadets of this rank are second-year students at Starfleet Academy. Cadets at this rank take part in field training at a space station or outpost. ;Cadet 4th class : Cadets of this rank are first-year students at Starfleet Academy. :''The rank of midshipman has occasionally been interchanged with that of cadet, although this rank's exact status remains unclear. Enlisted grades Non-commissioned officers The enlisted section of Starfleet has a hierarchy of "noncoms," short for non-commissioned officers. These ranks are achieved by members of Starfleet who have not attended Starfleet Academy. It should also be noted that the chief rank insignia listed in 2350-2370 was given to Wesley Crusher (TNG) to signify acting ensign status, allowing him to serve on bridge staff. ;Master chief petty officer ;Senior chief petty officer : Also known as "senior chief specialist". ;Chief petty officer ;Petty officer first class : Also known as "technician first class", etc. ;Petty officer second class : Also known as "specialist second class", etc. ;Petty officer third class : Also known as "yeoman third class", etc. Crewmen ;Crewman first class ;Crewman second class ;Crewman third class Other Ranks Colonel In 2293, Starfleet Colonel West was involved in the Khitomer conspiracy. ( ) :Although it is likely that colonel is equivalent to a captain, Colonel West wore the uniform of a Starfleet vice admiral. His rank was in fact taken from the real-life Lt. Colonel . It was not revealed if there is a special branch of services in Starfleet that colonels would serve in. Corporal In 2154, Starfleet Corporal Askwith perished at the Earth embassy on Vulcan. ( ) : It is likely that the costuming department was supposed to place the actor in a MACO uniform. Miscellaneous In 2254, Captain Christopher Pike, while on Talos IV, imagined himself as an Orion trader. He imagined an officer in a dress uniform with him at the Orion colony wearing peculiar shoulder epaulets and of unknown rank. ( ) :The Space officer wore one stripe, indicating he may have been a simple line officer between the ranks of lieutenant and captain. It is possible that the officer represented an admiral. In 2364, Starfleet warp specialist Kosinski ran several upgrade experiments on the Enterprise-D. Kosinski wore a unique rank insignia involving two silver rectangles, one light and one dark. ( ) : It is unknown what rank Kosinski held. It is possible that he was a provisional lieutenant junior grade or a grade of warrant officer. In 2376, The Doctor aboard Voyager briefly resigned his Starfleet commission. ( ) : The Doctor wore no rank insignia, and this was the only indication that he was a commissioned Starfleet officer. It is likely that the Doctor's unique situation allowed him (and perhaps other Emergency Medical Holograms) to have a Starfleet commission without a rank. Background The March 2003 issue of Star Trek: The Magazine states there are no lieutenant commander and lieutenant jg ranks in Earth's Starfleet. As these ranks never appeared on Star Trek: Enterprise, there is no definitive evidence regarding their existence during the 22nd century. According to Robert Fletcher, designer of the movie-era Starfleet ranks, Starfleet doesn't have warrant ranks in the 2280s. The non-canon reference manuals Star Trek: The Next Generation Officer's Manual and the Klingon Covert Operations Manual speak briefly on the subject. According to the Star Trek Encyclopedia, the insignia worn by CPO Miles O'Brien in DS9's first few years and enlisted Maquis on VOY was supposed to represent a warrant officer, even though numerous dialog references and general naval parlance about the ranks of those referred to would seem to disprove this time and again. It has been mentioned in several non-canon sources that Kosinski may have been given the position of "warrant officer" due to the nature of his warp drive experiments which would require some command over starship engineering personnel. His highly disrespectful attitude towards commissioned officers has led many fans to believe that he was a civilian granted his rank due to the nature of his assignment and not a regular Starfleet member. It is notable that Starfleet ranks do not necessarily confer seniority. For example Harry Kim was an ensign, but was a member of the senior staff in his capacity as operations manager on USS Voyager and thus senior to many, higher ranked, members of the crew. Similarly, Deanna Troi, despite her rank as a lieutenant commander, was not eligible to take the conn of the Enterprise-D until the events shown in when she passed the bridge officer's test, meaning that up to that point, any command-qualified lieutenant taking command of the bridge would have authority over her in normal situations. In emergencies, there seems to be a different qualification, as showed as-yet-untested Troi legally taking command during a crisis when the rest of the ship's crew were incommunicado. See also * Starfleet admirals * Starfleet captains * Starfleet commanders * Starfleet lieutenants * Starfleet ensigns * Starfleet cadets * Starfleet enlisted personnel * Starfleet crewmen de:Sternenflottenränge nl:Starfleet rangen